The Birmingham BriefThe Birmingham Brief archivehttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/index.aspx?TaxonomyKey=0/1/187/192&SyndicationType=1
Contensis: http://www.contentmanagement.co.ukCatalonia: more than 2 million vote for independence despite Spanish crackdownhttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/10/catalonia.aspx
Despite attempts by Spanish authorities and security service to block Sunday's independence referendum, more than 2.2 million of 5.3 million registered voters – a turnout of almost 43 per cent – cast ballots that could be tallied, according to Catalonia's officials.Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:30:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/10/catalonia.aspxCataloniaspainsocial policyCollege of Social ScienceindependencereferendumPolitics and PolicyPOLSIS Department of Political Science and International StudiesgovsocSocial SciencesPOLSISDepartment of Political Science and International Studiessocial-policyThe impacts of war on corruption: new evidence from Nepalhttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/09/impacts-of-war-on-corruption.aspx
Doctoral Researcher, Tom Jarvis discusses the impacts of corruption in War.Thu, 07 Sep 2017 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/09/impacts-of-war-on-corruption.aspxwarWar and conflictcorruptionTom Jarvisbirmingham briefNepalThe imminent partition of Syriahttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/partition-syria.aspx
After nearly six years of uprising, conflict and chaos, the partition of Syria is imminent. President Bashar al-Assad will of course rail against it; his crucial ally Iran will probably resist too, and the marginalised US won't even acknowledge the prospect. But the lines are nonetheless being drawn.Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:30:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/partition-syria.aspxSyria conflictsyriascott lucasCollege of Social SciencesTrump and Putin: How Special a Relationship?https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/Trump-and-Putin-How-Special-a-Relationship.aspx
Time magazine's decision to make Donald Trump its 'Person of the Year' may have seemed like the ultimate no brainer in a year when we got rather used to expecting the unexpected. However, did the illustrious journal get it wrong? Instead could a case have been made for awarding this annual badge of prestige to Trump's counterpart in Moscow?Thu, 19 Jan 2017 14:36:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/Trump-and-Putin-How-Special-a-Relationship.aspxtrumpUS Foreign and Defence PolicyUS politicsUS foreign and security policyRussiaRussia-Europe relationsPutinclintonRussian foreign and security policyRussian Foreign PolicyIs the humble fridge the key to meeting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals?https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/fridge-key-to-un-sustainable-development-goals.aspx
The clock is ticking on the most ambitious set of international development targets ever conceived. By 2030, the UN's Global Development Goals ('Global Goals') promise to banish hunger, poverty and inequality; ensure universal access to safe water, education, health care, clean energy and decent work; and secure peace, justice, economic growth and sustainability. Achieving all this and in the timeframe set will be a monumental challenge. What is not yet widely recognised is that one critical factor will be the development of clean cooling.Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:04:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2017/01/fridge-key-to-un-sustainable-development-goals.aspxclean energycooling technologycooling policyunited nationsglobal climateclimate changeinternational developmentChildren and Warhttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/10/children-and-war.aspx
A child washed up on the shores of Turkey after drowning at sea; the images of youngsters climbing across fences of barbed wires on Lampedusa; a boy sitting dazed and bloodied in the back of an ambulance after surviving an airstrike in Syria – these are some of the images that, once seen, can never be unseen. The moments, captured in these images pass, but the cycles of displacement continue.Thu, 27 Oct 2016 16:50:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/10/children-and-war.aspxsyriarefugeeschildrenwarWhat does a rise in the minimum wage mean for the Mexican labour market?https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/08/What-does-a-rise-in-the-minimum-wage-mean-for-the-Mexican-labour-market.aspx
The idea of a minimum working wage has been a controversial topic within economics for many years. The basic goal of establishing a minimum level of earnings is to ensure that independently of the job performed, all workers can earn a salary that is high enough to satisfy their basic needs.Thu, 25 Aug 2016 15:15:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/08/What-does-a-rise-in-the-minimum-wage-mean-for-the-Mexican-labour-market.aspxMexicolabour marketminimum wageeconomicBusiness SchoolpovertyWhat did Europe mean to William Shakespeare?https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/07/What-did-Europe-mean-to-William-Shakespeare.aspx
Shortly after the news of the referendum result, I heard some English politicians being interviewed on BBC radio. One of them remarked with apparent satisfaction that membership of the European Union had now been rejected by a majority of 'our countrymen.' Another, a woman, observed that the entire referendum campaign had been a very masculine affair, and pointed to her adversary's telling use of the word 'countrymen.' 'I'm sorry,' he replied, 'I have been reading the works of our national poet, and it must have affected my vocabulary.'Thu, 28 Jul 2016 15:18:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/07/What-did-Europe-mean-to-William-Shakespeare.aspxShakespeareShakespeare 400Shakespeare InstituteMichael Dobsoneu-refFunding and finding films: British cinema and Brexithttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/06/Funding-and-finding-films-British-cinema-and-Brexit.aspx
So many books with 'European cinema' in their titles have excellent chapters on Spanish, German, Italian, French and even British cinema, but say nothing about the subject that their covers promise. European cinema denies any hierarchy of its many languages, mixes and matches its stars and treats genres like play-doh.Thu, 09 Jun 2016 17:41:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/06/Funding-and-finding-films-British-cinema-and-Brexit.aspxeu-refeu-referendumCinemaEuropean and North American filmfilm and television studiescreative industriesBrexit Poll of Polls: Undecided voters hold the balancehttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/06/Brexit-Poll-of-Polls-Undecided-voters-hold-the-balance..aspx
Welcome to the University of Birmingham's Poll of Polls for Britain's European Union referendum. From now until the vote on 23 June, we will be assessing all the major surveys of public opinion to assess what can and cannot be said with confidence about the state of the campaign.Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:31:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/06/Brexit-Poll-of-Polls-Undecided-voters-hold-the-balance..aspxpolleu-refeu-referendumbrexitdebatepoll-poll-newsUnderstanding how chimpanzee behaviour in zoos differs from their natural environmenthttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/05/Understanding-how-chimpanzee-behaviour-in-zoos-differs-from-their-natural-environment.aspx
Going to see great apes in the zoo has been part of UK culture since 1835, when the first chimpanzee arrived at London Zoo. But our understanding of great apes' natural behaviour, and thus their welfare needs while in captivity, has changed radically following decades of field studies on wild apes. This includes our own five-year study on orangutans in Indonesia. This improved knowledge has led some to question if we should continue to keep great apes in captivity.Thu, 26 May 2016 15:58:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/05/Understanding-how-chimpanzee-behaviour-in-zoos-differs-from-their-natural-environment.aspxapeschimpanzeestwycross zoozoozoologistanimal behaviourenclosure design toolShould we stay or should we go? Immigration, Brexit and the status quohttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/05/Should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-Immigration-Brexit-and-the-status-quo.aspx
The desire to reduce immigration to the mythical tens of thousands promised by the Coalition and subsequent Conservative administrations, through regaining control of borders allegedly governed by Europe, was largely featured in the first call for an in/out EU referendum, and later in the lobbying of the Leave campaign. There are a range of possible scenarios in the event of a vote to stay in the EU or to leave, but whatever the outcome of the referendum, it is likely there will be little change in net migration figures.Thu, 19 May 2016 17:16:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/05/Should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-Immigration-Brexit-and-the-status-quo.aspxeu-refeu-referendumimmigrationmigrationsuperdiversityYear of the Monkey heralds golden opportunity for Chinese research partnershipshttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/01/chinese-research-partnerships.aspx
As we enter the Chinese Year of the Monkey in 2016, a new year brings fresh opportunity for the UK to continue building its relationship with China in many areas, not least academic research.Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:16:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2016/01/chinese-research-partnerships.aspxchinaYear of the MonkeyresearchpartnershipUniversity of BirminghamChina InstituteProfessor Jon Frampton'Toilet-seat head' amphibian boosts catalogue of Triassic curiositieshttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2015/04/toilet-seat-head-amphibian-02-04-2015.aspx
The Triassic, which lasted from 252 to 200 million years ago, is not a geological period that looms large in the public consciousness. It lacks the Hollywood glamour of the Jurassic, and sadly none of its cast is as iconic as stars of the Cretaceous such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Yet, among palaeontologists the Triassic is renowned, and with good reason.Thu, 02 Apr 2015 10:38:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2015/04/toilet-seat-head-amphibian-02-04-2015.aspxtriassicdinosaursdinosaurpalaeontologyWeighing up the real value of the G8 summithttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2013/06/g8-summit-2013.aspx
It is easy to be cynical over the value of summits such as the G8 meeting recently concluded in Northern Ireland. After all, this year's meeting was preceded by the erection of fake shop fronts in Northern Ireland to disguise empty businesses, and when Birmingham played host in 1998 the city council sprayed the grass verges green.Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:54:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2013/06/g8-summit-2013.aspxBirmingham Brief. G8 SummitDavid DunnInternational politicsItaly's new left-right government: not the 'normalisation' of the country's politics as yet...https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2013/05/09-05-13Italys-new-left-right-government-not-the-normalisation-of-the-countrys-politics-as-yet.aspx
Mon, 13 May 2013 10:49:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2013/05/09-05-13Italys-new-left-right-government-not-the-normalisation-of-the-countrys-politics-as-yet.aspxBuilding a Transparent System of Global Aidhttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2011/11/building-a-transparent-system-of-global-aid.aspx
Having transparent mechanisms for distribution of global aid is hugely important. It allows scrutiny to ensure money is used effectively. The global aid landscape has changed drastically with the rise of southern donors like India and China. This makes it even more important that transparency for public flows of development aid should be non-negotiable, irrespective of whether or not they are official development assistance.Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/2011/11/building-a-transparent-system-of-global-aid.aspxbirmingham briefPranay SinhaMichael Hubbard